RALLY’s Hot Take: Toni Atkins as Senate President Pro Tem is a win for California
By Hillary Moglen and Samuel Garrett-Pate
It’s official: Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) will be the next leader of the California Senate, succeeding President Pro Tem Kevin De León. The two Southern California Democrats announced the Caucus’s decision yesterday, with a formal election expected in January and a transition later in 2018.
The former Assembly Speaker, elected to the California Senate in 2016, will be the first woman and first openly gay Californian to lead the chamber — and one of only a handful of out LGBTQ legislative leaders currently serving in the country. Atkins has also been a leading voice on health care, education equity and environmental protection during her time in the Legislature.
“We aren’t just making consensus — we’re making history,” De León said yesterday. “Four years ago, our Caucus elected the first Latino leader in over a century to lead the California State Senate — and, next year, Senator Atkins will become our first ever woman to be elected Senate Leader.”
Our RALLY Hot Take:
1.Representation is power. Three of the four most powerful members of the California Legislature next year are Latino, two are women and two are members of the LGBT Caucus. Some may bemoan identity politics, but history shows us that having diverse voices in leadership positions ensures that the communities they represent are heard on key issues. As Sacramento’s We Said Enough campaign seeks to change the capital’s culture of sexual harassment and assault, it’s critical that we address the power structures that lead to such cultures in the first place. Elevating leaders that represent one of the Golden State’s greatest strengths — its diversity — is essential to long-term sustained change. With Atkins at the helm of the Senate, we can expect California to assume a leadership role in combating sexual harassment in state capitals across the country, while also building on our state’s record of LGBTQ equality.
2.This is great news for California students and environmentalists. Senator Atkins knows firsthand the power that a quality public education can have — having grown up in poverty in an Appalachian home with no public water. She’s also a close friend and ally of leading advocates for education equity in the Legislature, including her fellow San Diego Democrats Dr. Shirley Weber and Todd Gloria, both members of the Assembly. As pro tem, Atkins will have an opportunity to help deliver on critical education policy priorities needed to ensure that every child in California has an opportunity to succeed. She’s also been a strong advocate for environmental justice and efforts to combat climate change during her tenure, and will be an important ally for those who want California to continue leading the way on environmental protection in the age of Trump.
3. The push for single-payer healthcare is as alive as ever. With Atkins and Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) — the two principal co-authors of the single-payer healthcare bill that stalled in the Assembly in 2017 — in key leadership positions next year, Senate Democrats have breathed new life into the proposal for 2018. Members of the Assembly who want to see their own priorities move through the Senate in 2018 will have to negotiate with Atkins and Lara, who control the chamber floor and Appropriations Committee. And as a former speaker, Atkins has extensive experience whipping votes in both chambers. Yesterday’s announcement was welcome news for proponents of a single-payer health care plan in the Golden State.
The RALLY team is proud of our home state for continuing to make bold moves at the forefront of the resistance, not least by elevating to the highest levels of power a remarkable, barrier-busting (badass) leader.
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RALLY is an issue-driven communications firm that takes on sticky political and social problems and finds ways to push them forward. Hillary Moglen is a Principal and Samuel Garrett-Pate is a Senior Account Executive — both are based out of RALLY’s Los Angeles office.
